Multiple breech closing



y 22, 1952 E. s. CLEAVE ET AL 2,604,015

MULTIPLE BREECH CLOSING Filed Nov. '2, 1949 Patented July 22, 1952 LMULTIPLE B E H SZ N :Ed gar iShervilleiCleave, ChjgwelL and' Davifl fim .Tmwbridge, :Emerson Park, Hornchurch, 115135:-

EansL. assieno to Pl'essey qemnanr l im terl, ,I lford, England, a British company Animation-November 2, 1949,:Serial No. 1255-122 a 'In'Great Britain November. A, 1948 9 Claims. ;1 his "invention reia s to ,multi breech mechanisms.

: s In multi-breech-meehanisms has been found t that there are. oecasionsc-whenione or: more. ofthe sealed. 1

It is anobject oi--thisinvention to- 'previde a simple mechanism whereby all the breeehes can be sealed irrespective of the varyingthickness of the heads of cartridges.

''With these and-other objects in view the invention will now be described with reference: to the accompanying drawings, in -which Fig. -1' is a sectionaljelevationpi a breech mechanism head for a six chambered cartridge breech.

Fi 2 is a plan-oi the gear ngpnlin jA eB. f Fi .1, and

F 3 i a ai o he'fbr e ila a ilcckin 'mechanismion ineC*D,o iFis-,2.-

According to thei'nvention the nn lti breech mechanism has-the combination of a breech head, a c ntro m chani mcmohnted in said breech h a for. mnarti ga not ry drive at l a t oi eal epads mo n axiall in sa dmreech dy; aiqstim tion mechanism associated with each sealing pad operatively fcpn'llected to the control mechanism, said rgontrol mechanism transmitting a rotary drivegtjo the lost motion 4 m i m d i lostmo io' mecha sm 11m pa t n an axial movement t the, e ing 1 p toseal the breches irrespective oiany irregnlarh tiesi'n thickness of theheads of cartridges.

Referring to thedrawings:

A metalv l c or h s as s v n -a thehr ech head i i rm dw tli eiali disea e-dranties 2 i ae o e in s A, sp in l aded semi-e1; handle 4 is retatabl-y m unte i the an e :Qnemngfi fiaidihandlel l is fi ed :w h tr nsverse: pint-:5 which-moves -sl ted euide ringafi.fixedrtczthqbreechheadl. 7' u Aegean-wheel's] provided aghublazisfl rotatably .-mou nt.ed* betweennthe bribe-9 integral with control handle 4 and guide ring 6. The gear hub (c1. sa-.117)

2 ih q m trical praies sk pts lirtosnablei e ds p th traesverseniafi 29;. mp1? s M0 th t ed a i q n s? whe eby .thesentreLhaadl $1l19f .p l4 bein tent p l n ti d ra l and insertefi qt -lfirlfiemn H3. n seape tlvelv- "111%? as mb .0 east; ut elsi jPaRQ$fiQQ by a re ainin Plat -eewre ies qeme br e huh ad lin nut a ei-re to rotate 9s amhreve si #9 3 m saXiQH Y r v. eac cav y ansi; a 'e vn ate i a; sears .eaeh sh c-wii ctli sear whee 1 a sho n i F g-2 #:s fireplfi -lfi iss airesi QH h PaFeLMthe b e h d I; s ido e hla hemermt vid w h ixe rqum ere a w res rv th w e l nen ii -l- .Eeg eel n redill en em- -r epondm awni nih sere e at ;l V 1 4 g llflc bvk ilsiv .i

to move axially but are preveigited m n -rotatmg a 5A arrskp etai ia eeiozth sartriqee. ar els i is Pr vi ed w th mhe -i t1 i 3i 1 easaeeinls yym. 2 4;; wed-in l e errnlat t9 WIWFQQYIF ib ee head "s em y b y fixed to the cartridge barrels g2. space within the hollow shanks I2 behi;n5i,' th

h .c mi ed.ik rwaysaclQuwhereby'rbhe Alec-a l ed: toz he harrel u with-the sealing pads l l in axial alignment wi n the heads hi eaxt isi esiifii qelrtm hami afl is first messa inwards henthestransverse:. imianoves .l ngitu. 'nally sins-the. slotted ring 6 and vthen turned. Simultaneouslyiwithzithis rotary move.-

ment, gear wheel 1 revolves and imparts a similar heretofore stated.-

movement to all of the ring gears I in order to transmit rotary motion is transmitted to each nut I3 through the helical spring M to cause the sealing pads to move axially, as the nuts l3 are in threaded engagement with the shanks I2 of the pads II. The nuts 13 cannot move longitudinally as herein setgforth.

In the event of one cartridge having a thicker head than the remainder, the one with the thickest head will have all clearance taken up before the others. As all the ring gears l 5 are connected to the gear I continued rotation of the control handle 4 seals all the cartridges. In the event of any discrepancy in the thickness of the car-,- tridge heads, springs [4 are free to unwind after the pads I l have closed and merely apply an increased load to each sealing pad IL. .As soon as all the cartridge heads are sealed the transverse pin reaches the end of its movement, when on being released moves outwardly under the influence of its spring loading.

" After discharge of one or more of the cartridges the breech head I is removed in a reverse manner to that herein described for fitting.

In order to provide for combined movement of the control handle' l and the guide ring 6 as well as movement of the handle 4 and gear wheel -l independently-of the ring '6,'the latter is provided with diametrically opposed vertically ex- --tending slots 26 for receiving opposite ends of the pin 5, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus initial rotation of the control member 4 rotates the entire breech head I to lock the same to the barrel plate 2|. Thereafter, the member 4 is pushed inwardly and turned, this action being permitted -by the provision of laterally extending slots in the ring 6, one ofthese slots being shown at 21 in Fig. 1. During such turning actionof member i, the latteris moved independently of the ring fi until allof the cartridge heads have been sealed as heretofore stated. The pin 5 has then been moved to a position'where the ends thereof are aligned with diametrically opposed vertically extending slots 28 in the ring 6, one of which is shown in Fig. 1. When this occurs, the member 4 is released whereupon the return spring 29 moves the member 4 outwardlyand the opposite ends of the pin 5 are received in the slots 28.

The circumferential extent of the slotZTis approximately-12W, to allow for the movements The control handle in the foregoing description is for manual operation, but it isto be clearly understood that theinvention is not limited to manualoperation; any convenient form of mechanical or electrical or electro-mechanical means can be used. a I

We claim:

1. In a multi-breech mechanism having in combination a breech head, a control mechanism mounted in said breech head for imparting a rotary drive, at least two sealing pads movable axially in said breech head, a lost motion mechanism associated with each sealing pad and operatively connected to the control mechanism, said control mechanism transmitting rotary motion to the lost motion mechanism and said lost motion mechanism imparting an axial movement to the sealing pads to seal the breeches irrespective of any irregularities in thickness of the heads of cartridges.

2. In a multi-breechmechanism having in combinationa breech head, a control mechanism mounted in said breech head for 'imparting a rotary drive, at least two sealing pads moving 4 V axially in said breech head, a lost motion mechanism associated with each sealing pad and operatively connected to the control mechanism, and means for locking the breech head to the breeches, said control mechanism transmitting rotary motion to the 10st motion mechanism and said lost motion mechanism imparting an axial movement to the sealing pads to seal the breeches irrespective of any irregularities in thickness of the heads of cartridges.

3. In a multi-breech mechanism the combination of a breech head, having a central aperture and a plurality of circumferential cavities, a control member mounted in the central aperture of said breech head, means for providing limited axial and rotary movement of said control member, a control gear connected to said control member, a sealing pad in each cavity, a lost motion head to the breeches, the assembly comprising the control gear, the lost motion mechanisms and the ring gears transmitting a rotary drive from the control handle into independent longitudinal movement of each sealing pad to seal' the breeches.

4. In a multi-breech mechanism the combination of a breech head, having a central aperture and a plurality of circumferential cavities, a control member mounted in the central aperture of said breech head, means for providing limited axial and rotary movement of said control member, a central gear connected to said control member, a sealing pad with a hollow shank at the rear, a nut screwed on to the shank, a gear rotatably mounted on the nut, spring means connecting said gear to said nut for imparting rotary motion to said nut, one said sealing pad and assembly mounted in each radial cavity in the breech head, the gear of each assembly meshing with the control gear, aretaining plate secured in the breech head holding the sealing pad assemblies in position, a cover plate with a plurality of circumferential apertures secured to the base of the breech head, said sealing pads projecting through the apertures in said cover plate, and means for locking the breech head to the breech with the sealing pads in axial alignment with the cartridge barrels in said breech.

5. In a multi-breech mechanism having in combination a breech head removably fitted to a breech, said breech head having a central aperture and a plurality of circumferential cavities therein, a spring loaded control member mounted in the aperture of 'the breech head, means for providing a limited axial and rotary movement of said control member, a control gear connected to said control member, a sealing pad with a rearwardly extending hollow shank, a nut screwed on to theend of each hollow shank, a ring gear rotatably mounted in said nut. a helical spring mounted on each nut being connected to said nut and ring gear respectively, each sealing pad with its assembly mounted in a cavity in said breech head, a retaining plate fixed to the breech head for holding the assembly in position and preventing axial movement of the nuts, said ring gears in constant mesh with said control gear, a cover plate with radial apertures and keyways fixed to the base of said breech head, said sealing pads arranged in the radial apertures in said cover plate, keys arrangedbetween said pads and cover plate to-provi'de foriaxial movement of the pads and prevent rotary movement thereof, a

barrel plate fixed to the cartridge barrels and radial studs fixed to said plate removably engaging with key ways in said cover plate.

6. In a multi-breech mechanism having a breech head, a multi-breech, and a plurality of sealing pads mounted in said head for axial movement, a rotary control device carried by said head, and means for moving said sealing pads axially with respect to said head to seal the breech head and breech irrespective of any irregularities in thickness of the heads of cartridges in the breech, comprising a rotatable member associated with each sealing pad for moving the latter axially upon rotation of the member, a lost motion mechanism connected with each member, for rotating the latter and means controlled by rotaary movement of said control device for moving all of said lost motion mechanisms.

7. In a multi-breech mechanism having a breech head, a multi-breech, and a plurality of sealing pads mounted in said head for axial movement, a rotary control device carried by said head, and means for moving said sealing pads axially with respect to said head to seal the breech head and breech irrespective of any irregularities in thickness of the heads of cartridges in the breech, comprising a spring associated with each sealing pad, and means controlled by rotary movement of said control device to deform said springs to effect axial movement of said sealing pads.

8. In a multi-breech mechanism having a breech head, a multi-breech, and a plurality of sealing pads mounted in said head for axial movement, a rotary control device carried by said head, and means for moving said sealing pads axially with respect to said head to seal the breech head and breech irrespective of any irregularities in thickness of the heads of cartridges in the breech, comprising a rotatable Cir member associated with each sealing pad for moving the latter axially upon rotation of the member, means for connecting all of said rotatable members with said control device for rotation thereby, and a spring associated with each sealing pad and forming a part of each respective connecting means.

9. In a multi-breech mechanism having a breech head, a multi-breech, and a plurality of sealing pads mounted in said head for axial movement, a rotary control device carried by said head, and means for moving said sealing pads axially with respect to said head to seal the breech head and breech irrespective of any irregularities in thickness of the heads of cartridges in the breech, comprising a rotatable member threadedly connected with each sealing pad to move the latter axially upon rotation of said member, a coil spring surrounding each rotatable member and having one end thereof connected with its associated rotatable member, a gear associated with each member and connected to the other end of the respective coil spring, and gear means connected with said control device and meshing with all of said gears.

' EDGAR SHERVILLE CLEAVE.

DAVID ROY 'IROWBRIDGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 190,645 Taylor May 8, 1877 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,994 Great Britain of 186 

